December 9, 2010

I'm Back!

Thank you, Captain Wits. This was such a wonderful gift. It is so wonderful to see all my old friends again. And it is just as wonderful to see Jax and Sparky out of the Detention Center!

Sorry this blog entry is so short, but I am only here until New Years Eve and I do not want to spend all my time writing! Japan is my home. I love it more than anything, but this place…it is just so special to me. It is great to be back!

posted by Yoko

July 7 2009

Bye Everyone!

I had such a great time on July 4th, though I think your celebration makes no sense. What do funnel cakes and quickly spinning tea cup rides have to do with your independence from Britain? Did General Washington eat a lot of funnel cakes? I guess that would explain the false teeth...

The fireworks were beautiful. Did you know they were invented in Asia? I've always thought that using gunpowder to make amazing splashes of color in the sky was a much better use than making bombs and bullets with it. Imagine if we used all the gunpowder in the world for fireworks instead of war? Now that would be something to celebrate.

I'm sad I'm leaving but I'm excited to see my family again. To everyone at the Academy, thank you for everything! Sayonara!

posted by Yoko

June 23 2009

Dana's Garden

We helped Dana plant the Academy garden yesterday. I am only used to having a few plants in pots on my balcony back home. I have never planted so many things in one place!

Everything looks so nice next to the cherry trees we planted. I can't wait to come back and visit in a few years when they are larger and in bloom.

posted by Yoko

June 11 2009

Extended Stay

Even though I miss my family, I want to get the most out of my year in America. I will stay here with Alexi over the summer. She says summer is the best time of year because of all the fun outdoors activities.

I would like to go to the beach and find seashells to bring home to my parents. I wonder if the seashells in America are different than the ones in Japan?

posted by Yoko

May 27 2009

Leaving

My year at the Academy is coming to an end. I am happy to go back home because I really miss my family and friends, but I'll be very sad to leave my new friends at the Academy, too.

I learned so much this year about cyber defense, but the real lesson in being an exchange student is learning to adapt to a new environment. I suppose you experience the same thing when you first enter cyberspace. It's another sort of culture shock. I'm very glad I had Alexi, Commander Omni, and the other cadets to help guide me.

posted by Yoko

May 21 2009

Bloggy Buddy to the Rescue

I almost made a huge mistake! I wrote a post about all the fun places near the Academy the cadets took me to that I was going to miss next year. I thought it would be a nice memory for everyone to share.

As usual, I had my bloggy buddy Alexi read through it before posting it. You should have seen the look on her face! I thought it was fine, since I'm not visiting these places anymore, but the other cadets are and I would have been revealing their personal information!

I'm so glad Dana started the bloggy buddy system. I could have endangered all my friends at the Academy!

posted by Yoko

April 24 2009

Mochi

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake and is one of my favorite snacks, but I guess it's not as common here in America. Other than mochi ice cream, my favorite way to have it is as dumplings in shiruko (sweet red bean soup). Alexi tells me that Americans don't eat beans for dessert, and when they make mochi they like to add things to it like coconut milk and butter. I've never had it this way before. So strange.

It was a little difficult to find all the ingredients we needed. Maya took us off-campus to a special grocery store to get mochiko and azuki beans. She says her favorite desserts are made with chocolate. Maybe we will make this next time?

posted by Yoko